


A Year in Life with Mr. & Mrs. Bowen

by BriMarie



Category: High School Musical: The Musical: The Series (TV)
Genre: Angst, Established Relationship, F/M, Fluff, Lime, Married Life, Slice of Life, rini - Freeform, rini babies, rini is endgame, year in life
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-09
Updated: 2020-07-09
Packaged: 2021-03-04 19:14:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,520
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25161466
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BriMarie/pseuds/BriMarie
Summary: Enjoy the newly wed couple's antics during the first 12 months of their marriage.
Relationships: Ricky Bowen & Nini Salazar-Roberts, Ricky Bowen/Nini Salazar-Roberts
Comments: 8
Kudos: 38





	A Year in Life with Mr. & Mrs. Bowen

_The First Month_

Nini cracks open a bottle of some cheap champagne, pours it into two glasses, and hands one of them to her husband.

"Toast to us managing to find a house in our budget while we were in the midst of planning an overpriced wedding."

He lifts his glass. "And for not killing each other when we were loudly fighting over furniture in Bed, Bath, & Beyond."

Nini cringed at the memory. "Ugh don't remind me." The employees and by-passers had been so uncomfortable at their bickering. 

He chuckles and clinks their glasses. They both down their respective drinks, and Ricky pulls her into a loving hug.

"God I can't believe we got married. It seems so weird that you're now legally Nina Bowen. I gotta admit; Imma kinda miss calling you Sal-Robs."

"Imma miss it too, but I think I'm gonna like being referred to as Mrs. Bowen from now on. I think it suits me well."

He suddenly picked her up and spun her. She giggled as he pecked her face with ardent kisses. He smiled and planted a kiss on her forehead. 

"I think so too."

***

_The Second Month_

They were far too cheap to actually pay some professional to paint their small house. (They also couldn't afford it yet, but they like to pretend that's not the real reason).

They decided to paint their bedroom a golden like color. Nini was painting the opposite side of the room as Ricky while they were jamming out to his playlist. Nini has always been a neat freak and very precise, so she made sure every stroke was basically perfect leaving no room for a possible mistake. 

Ricky had been the total opposite being more of a free spirit, which she was usually fine with. The problem with that now is that when it comes to painting their bedroom, there couldn't be that many screw ups since they'd have to be staring at these walls for years to come. 

She'd find herself looking over her shoulder to make sure he wasn't getting unaligned or accidentally dripping paint on the carpet. The seventh time she peaked to see his progress, she noticed he was already stroking his brush in an unruly manner. 

She physically cringed as she imagined how the wall would turn out if she didn't say anything. 

"Ricky don't stroke it like that."

He turned his head over his shoulder and smirked. "Ha, that's what she said."

She rolled her eyes as she made her way to his side. "You're so childish oh my god, and here let me see the brush."

She takes the brush from his hand and demonstrates the appropriate way to paint the wall. "There that's how you do it." She looked at her work pridefully.

"Hmm you actually missed a spot right there babe." He squinted as he examined the wall. She furrowed her brows as she leaned in closer to see her mistake.

"Really, where?"

He takes the brush from her and paints her cheek. She gasped loudly the moment the cold paint touched her skin.

He wickedly smiled down at her. "Right there."

She reaches down to grab a spare brush and dips it in paint. "You're gonna pay for that."

He started walking backwards already knowing what's coming. "Woah let's just calm down now."

"Nah this is war."

She flung her brush at him resulting in golden paint splattering on his shirt and a little on the wall. He stares at her in disbelief for a second before turning up his lips into a playful smile.

"Oh you're so on princess."

And that's what started a full on battlefield in their bedroom. Both were fiercely trying to win by either sneak attacking each other and even attempting to throw pints of paint on the others head. Despite being 25, they were acting like 12 year olds.

When they were finally covered with paint from head to toe, they both realized how ridiculous they both looked and laughed. 

She dropped her brush to the ground. "I guess we're tied." 

"Yeah I guess so."

"Now we gotta buy more paint."

He shrugged. "It was worth it though."

"I'm gonna go get changed, and we can finish this later." 

"Wait gimme a hug first." He opened his arms wide for her.

"Ricky we're both hot messes." 

"Exactly, so it wouldn't make a difference if we hugged."

When she saw his adorable face, she couldn't resist him. "I can't argue with that logic." 

She made her way over to him and he happily embraced her in a hug. He began to purposely smear even more paint onto her clothes and she slapped his back.

"Dammit I should've known you were gonna sabotage me."

"What can I say? I love winning."

"Just for that, I'm not cuddling with you tonight."

She smirked when she saw how quickly his smile dropped and walked to the bathroom before he could say anything else.

He looked to the floor in defeat. "I've won, but at what cost?"

(Sometime in the middle of the night, she found herself crawling into his arms anyways).

***

_The Third Month_

Nini was fully aware of how stressed her husband had been at work recently. Being a music teacher at a university could truly be a hell of a lot of work since you have to grade exams and conduct over 200 kids every day.

So to lift his spirits, she planned a nice surprise dinner date for them since she knew he'd be coming in late again. She jumps from her seat when she hears the front door unlock from excitement.

When he finally came in, he stopped and stared at the sight in front of him. His wife had been dressed in a tight white dress despite the hour, the lights were dimmed, there was a candlelit dinner prepared for them, and she was playing calming romantic music. 

"Wow Neens this is just...wow. Oh wait, I didn't forget an anniversary or anything did I?!"

He immediately tried to remember if today was a special holiday until he heard her laughing. 

"No honey, nothing about today is special. I just wanted to surprise you with a nice candlelit dinner since I'm aware of how work has been kicking your ass lately."

He couldn't even hide his adoration for the beautiful woman in front of him. "How did I get so lucky?"

"I could ask you the same thing."

He walked up to her and gave her doting kiss. "God I love you so much." He trailed more kisses down to her neck. She sighed blissfully when she felt his tongue.

"Mm Ricky the food will get cold if we continue."

He didn't seem fazed as he continued to mark her neck. "I'm hungry for something else at the moment."

She tightens her hold on him when he flicked her nipple. "I guess we could reheat the food in the microwave anyways." 

In a swift motion, he picks her up bridal style and takes them to their bedroom.

***

_The Fourth Month_

Nini felt like death all day today.

She had come down with a sickness that she assumed must have been from seasonal sickness from the abrupt climate change. 

She quickly realized that this was indeed not the average illness she had because seasonal sickness doesn't make her legs feel weak, it doesn't make her hurl every few hours, and it doesn't make her randomly feel sore.

She had tried her best to focus at work, but these symptoms were distracting her from being efficient and others began to notice.

"Hey Neens, are you okay? You're sweating even though it's literally freezing in here." Her coworker Kourtney asked.

"Yeah I'm feeling a little under the weather. Maybe I should go to the doctor after work. I have like the most intense side effects of whatever virus I got."

That seemed to have peaked Kourtney's interest. "What're your symptoms? Maybe I can guess what you have before you go and spend an unreasonable amount of money at some doctor's office."

"Well this morning and a few other mornings before that one, I woke up puking. I also have random cramps in my legs almost like period cramps but not quite. Also, the sweating appears out of nowhere."

Kourtney smirks. "Nini, have you ever considered the fact that you might be pregnant?"

Nini turns pale. She definitely had not thought of that, and now she feels kinda stupid for not connecting the dots sooner. The evidence was right in front of her.

That explains the cramps, puking, sweating, and the occasional dizzy spell. She also was late by three weeks. She did have sex with Ricky a month ago so all of this made total sense. Holy shit.

"Oh my god, I'm pregnant."

"Well we don't know that yet. During lunch, you should go get a test."

Nini nodded. "Yeah I'll do that. Thanks Kourt."

She didn't take it during her lunch break because she knew that regardless of the results, she'd be distracted by it all day, so she bought one on her way home.

The moment she got home, she went straight to the bathroom. After a few minutes of awaiting her results, her timer finally went off. She anxiously looked down at the stick and almost forgot how to breathe when she saw the results.

Two red stripes.

She was pregnant. Holy fuck she was pregnant. She always wanted kids with Ricky, but she just assumed they'd come maybe in the second or third year of their marriage. She wasn't disappointed necessarily, just shocked. She found herself smiling like an idiot as she stared down at the stick in her hands.

And then she realized that she had to tell Ricky. She knows he wants kids, but just like her he wanted them a little later so that they can enjoy their marriage in peace for a little while first. But hey, life likes to throw curve balls sometimes.

He was coming home in an hour so that gave her more than enough time to break the news to him. She has no idea how he's going to react, but she just hoped it was positive. 

Ricky entered the house and immediately noticed the energy was off. Usually Nini greeted him with a hug and kiss, but she was nowhere in sight. He decided not to think too much into it since he couldn't always expect her to greet him when he comes home.

"Neens, I'm home."

He didn't get a reply, which made him worry a bit. He doesn't remember her saying she'd be somewhere at this hour, and he doesn't hear the shower going. 

"Neens, are you home?"

He checked the bedroom first. When he entered, he saw his wife laying on their bed awake with the most distressed expression he thinks he's ever seen on her. He immediately sat down beside her and held her close.

"Babe what's wrong? Did something happen to you?"

She shook her head and held him closer. "No nothing bad happened today, but something life changing did." She moved his hand over her womb.

She looked into his eyes and began crying. He was confused by the motion and didn't get why she was crying. "I don't understand babe."

"Ricky, you're gonna be a daddy."

His eyes bulged out of his head. His breathing had been irregular, and all of a sudden it was black.

Ricky woke up to the gentle slaps of his wife who was looking down at him worried out of her mind. 

"Ricky, hey are you okay?"

He slowly got up from his spot. "Yeah what happened?"

"You blacked out on me for like 3 minutes. I was about to call a damn ambulance if you didn't wake up soon."

"Oh why'd I black out? I don't remember."

Nini sighed and he could tell she was hesitating to tell him. "Well I had just told you I was pregnant and you just passed out. Soooo I don't know how to take that reaction."

She doesn't meet his eye, and it breaks his heart because she probably took his reaction as a negative one. He took her hand in his. 

"Hey, I didn't faint because I'm not happy."

She perks up a bit. "Really?"

"Of course I'm happy Neens. We're having a baby together! A little person that's gonna be half me and you is gonna make our lives ten times better in nine months. I haven't even met them yet, and I can already tell that I love them." 

Nini had been full on crying now. She jumped on him, gave him a big hug, and started kissing all over his face.

"I love you." Peck. "I love you." Peck. "I love you." Peck.

"I love you too Neens, but you probably shouldn't pounce on me like that for a while."

"Oh you're right, my bad." She rubbed her womb. "I just got really excited when you said that. I'm so glad you're happy about the news." 

"Of course babe. What do you think the gender will be? I'm betting on a boy." 

She scrunched her eyebrows. "Nah this is definitely a girl. I heard that certain positions determine the gender and the one we did a month ago usually creates girls."

"You wanna bet?"

"Hell yeah I wanna bet. Loser has to change the diapers for _her_ for the first month."

"Deal. You'll be eating those words in nine months when _he_ arrives."

***

_The Fifth Month_

Nini's mood had been a little gloomy as of recently due to her hormones being crazy. Since she's usually home a few hours earlier than Ricky, she spends a lot of time alone until he gets home. 

She usually didn't mind being alone for four to five hours, but her pregnancy had made her want him around more. She had told him about it and he promised he'd try to come home earlier if he could, but it was extremely unlikely since his last class ended at 6:45.

On one Saturday, Ricky had left the house pretty early in the morning claiming he had to do a few errands. She had been suspicious since he never wakes up early even for errands especially on his day off, but she let it go for now.

He came back two hours later with a box with holes in it, a smoothie, and a stupid smile planted on his face. She looked at him befuddled.

"Uh whatcha got there?"

He lifts the drink up. "A smoothie."

"I was referring to the box smartass."

"Oh yeah I got a little something for you too."

She saw the box move and started eyeing it skeptically.

"So you know how you've been saying you hate being alone? Well I found the solution."

He rest the box on the ground and opens the lid. He picks up a male golden retriever puppy. 

Nini couldn't help but stare at the little creature in awe. She took the puppy out of his hands and cradled it. 

"Do you like him?"

She beams and kisses her husband. "I love him. He's gonna grow up along with our baby, so they'll be best friends. This is the best gift you've ever given me besides our unborn child of course."

"Glad you like it! What should we name him? I'm thinking of Snowball."

Nini shakes her head. "No, that's way too basic. I say we name him...Hugo. I loved that movie growing up, and I think it suits him well."

Ricky pets the dog's head. "Well welcome home Hugo. You're gonna fit right in." 

***

_The Sixth Month_

Her mood swings were off the rails as of recently. She'd get pissy over just about anything. He'd try his best to reason with her, but she wouldn't back down.

He knew he shouldn't take anything she says to heart since he knew she was speaking from her hormonal state not her true feelings, but he had to admit that sometimes her words hurt.

Today she truly was just not in a good mood more than usual. He didn't know why today of all days she was so pissed.

He had just gotten out of the shower thinking that she was still asleep. The moment he stepped out of the bathroom, she had been glaring angrily at him from their bed. 

"Hey you're finally awake."

She rolled her eyes. "Yeah thanks to you. I couldn't sleep due to the loudness of the damn shower at 9 in the morning. Like did you really need to take a shower that early on a Sunday?"

He blankly looks at her. So it's gonna be one of those days. "I'm sorry I woke you Neens."

"Sorry doesn't help my tiredness, and now I'm too angry to even go back to sleep. Ugh I guess I'll start the day earlier than expected."

She angrily gets off the bed and storms out of the room. Ricky sighs to himself knowing that this was definitely gonna be a bad morning. After he gets dressed, he sees her making herself some food with Hugo sitting beside her begging for scraps.

She doesn't even bother to acknowledge his existence as she carries on. He walks up to her and tried to hug her, but she pushed him away.

"I'm not in the mood."

"Neens I don't get why you're acting out like this. I didn't mean to wake you. Please forgive me." He reached to grab her hand, but she flinched from him.

"I don't want to look at you right now. I'm just irritable at the moment. I need space."

He backed away from her and grabbed his keys. "Fine, take your time. I'll just be out for a few hours so you can have all the space you need."

And on that note, he left. She immediately began tearing up when he left. She hated her stupid hormones. They always made her act out on innocent people especially Ricky since he lived with her. Hell she even yelled at Hugo yesterday for chewing too loudly even though he didn't understand a word she said.

She didn't actually mean anything she said to Ricky just now. Matter of fact, she meant the opposite. She wanted him to stay by her side at all times. For some reason, her hormones always managed to make her say all the wrong things. 

She wasn't even upset that he gave her some space. He was probably tired of her crazy emotions anyways. Knowing him, he'll probably be back later in the day since he always respected her wishes especially now more than ever.

She looked down at Hugo who was licking her leg. "You know, I think you're the only one who hasn't gotten sick of me yet."

Ricky had returned later that night as she expected. She had been resting in their bed waiting for him to walk through the door. She tried going to sleep, but found she couldn't sleep without seeing him first.

He cautiously walks in the bedroom scared of waking her up if she was asleep. She watched in her peripheral vision as he undressed as quietly as he could, and she couldn't help but smile at how thoughtful he was being. 

He carefully slid in his side of the bed and turned off the lamp. She finally turned over to his side, which startled him. 

"Holy shit Neens I thought you were asleep. I didn't wake you again did I?"

She snickers. "No, I was already awake." She grabs his hand and kisses the back of it. "I couldn't go to sleep without knowing you got home safe."

He smiles and a blush appeared on his cheeks. "Really? I thought I was the last person you'd wanna see today."

"Sweetheart, you know my hormones make me say things I never mean. I've missed you all day and wanted nothing more than for you to hold me. I'm sorry for what I said."

He kissed her forehead and brought her closer to him. "It's okay. You don't have to apologize. I know you don't genuinely mean it."

Nini melted into his arms. "I love you. Thanks for always understanding."

"Anything for you Neens."

***

_The Seventh Month_

"You ready to change diapers for a whole month Neens? Because I already know it's a boy."

"In your dreams! I know damn well that we are having a girl."

"I guess we'll have to find out in a few minutes."

"I guess we will." 

Soon enough, Carol came with the piñata that would tell them what the gender will be. They decided to let Ricky hit it not wanting to risk Nini possibly getting injured in anyway. They wrapped a blindfold over his face and handed him a bat.

"Ready Ricky?" Carol asked. 

He nodded enthusiastically. "More than ready."

Carol whistles loudly to get everyone's attention. "Alright let's countdown from 3 in unison. 3! 2! 1! Go!"

Ricky swung the bat almost decking Big Red and Ashlyn in the face in the process. 

He then almost knocked over his own father who in his defense was sitting too close to the piñata in the first place.

Dana bent down to Nini's ear. "Has his aim always been this bad?" Nini chuckled. "Unfortunately yes, which I now realize it probably wasn't the best idea to choose a piñata, but man is it amusing."

After a few more swings, he finally managed to puncture it and felt confetti fall on top of him. He removed his blindfold and was stunned at the color of the confetti. It was green. It seemed like everyone else also realized the odd color.

Ricky looked at the small crowd. "Correct me if I'm wrong, but I'm pretty sure the colors are usually blue or pink." 

"You're right. What the hell does green mean?" Nini asked her moms, but they were just as confused too.

"Well I guess you guys will have to have another gender reveal party or wait til the baby's born." Mike says. 

Ricky began laughing and looked at his wife. "I guess we're having a leprechaun."

Nini started laughing too. "Damn we better start learning Irish history then."

After the party, instead of calling the doctor to check the gender they decided to just wait until the baby was born to determine the gender.

They thought the gender reveal fail was so funny that they decided to paint the baby's room green regardless of its gender.

***

_The Eigth Month_

Ricky had been so engrossed in his work and the upcoming baby that he almost forgot his own 26th birthday. Nini however did not. Ricky was never big on celebrating his birthday unless it was a milestone one, and even then he didn't do much.

This year, Nini wanted to make him feel special despite it not being an important birthday. He had been her rock through this pregnancy, and it was his first birthday that they'd spend together as a married couple.

She woke up earlier than usual careful not to disrupt his slumber and prepared him his favorite breakfast (chocolate chip pancakes and bacon) before he'd head off to work.

When she was done cooking, she placed the plate on a tray and carefully walked to their bedroom. She put the tray on her side of the bed and reached over to him to place kisses on his lips.

He eventually opened his eyes and kissed her back. He looked at the tray and rose a brow. "What's all this about?"

"Happy birthday!"

He smiled and gave her another kiss. "Babe you're way too kind, and you didn't have to fix me breakfast. I know you need your beauty sleep now more than ever. Plus, there's nothing special about turning 26."

She shrugged. "Yeah I know, but I really wanted to do something nice for you as a gift since it's been a while."

"You're more than enough Neens."

"So you don't want your breakfast? Because I'm pretty sure Hugo would love some of your bacon."

"Woah woah woah, I'm still eating it." He pulls the tray to him.

"Yeah that's what I thought." She gave him a quick peck on the nose. "Enjoy."

After he ate and left for work, Nini automatically began planning for his other surprise. She and all of their friends helped plan a surprise birthday party at their place when he gets home. Ricky was always extremely skeptical, so she had to make sure everything was on point so the surprise wasn't ruined.

When it was almost time for him to be home, everyone was already hiding behind furniture talking amongst themselves while waiting for his arrival. Nini gets a text from Ricky.

"Oo guys simmer down; he's coming!"

Everyone shut up and stayed as still as possible. When Ricky opened the door, he only saw darkness. He automatically was confused since he was sure Nini claimed she’d be home tonight. He could only hear the sound of Hugo's little paws.

When he switched on the light, a series of people jumped out of random corners of the house.

"Surprise!!!"

He almost had a damn heart attack. "Holy fuck you guys nearly killed me!"

Nini walked up to him and hugged him. "Sorry babe, but this was the only way I could celebrate your birthday without you resisting."

"When and how did you even have time to plan this?"

"As you know, I have a way with words."

Gina groans loudly. "Ugh enough chit chat! I've been dying for a slice of cake!" They all laugh and go to the kitchen and serve themselves to the hors d'oeuvres.

The night had been a blast, and Ricky had to admit that he was glad that Nini threw him a party even though he initially didn't want one. Finally, it was time to cut the cake. Ashlyn has placed the sheet cake on the table in front of him with the already lit candles. 

Nini ducked her head down next to his ear. "I know you don't like when people sing happy birthday to you, so I won't burden you with that. Go on and make a wish." 

He started to think of a wish, looked at his wife's womb, and smiled. He closed his eyes and made a wish before blowing out the candles. While they were all enjoying their cake, Nini had tugged on his shirt.

"What did you wish for?"

"For me to be a good dad."

She put her hand on top of his. "You don't need to wish for that. You'll definitely be a great dad."

"Thanks babe."

"Oh hun, you got something on your face; let me get that."

Nini appeared as if she was trying to wipe his face, but then smacks a piece of his cake on his face. The rest of the table all bust into giggles, and she can overhear EJ choking on his cake.

Ricky had to take a second to fully comprehend what just happened. "Dammit babe, on my birthday?"

Nini shrugged as she licked off some of the icing. "Hey it's payback from the paint fight we had all those months back."

He looks at her in mock offense. "Wow petty much?"

"What can I say? I love winning." 

He chortled when she quoted him and licked off some of the smeared dessert on his upper lip.

When the last guest left, Ricky wrapped his wife in his arms. "Thanks for such a great night."

"It was nothing; you deserve it. Come on, let's head to bed."

He smirks. "Alright but no cuddles or bill and coo since you pulled that sneaky trick earlier."

She huffed. "Oh please, we both know you wouldn't last a whole night without spooning me."

He really wanted to deny that, but it was true.

"Damn you woman and your irresistible charm."

"Shut up you love it."

"Yeah I know."

***

_The Ninth Month_

With it being the few days after midterms occurred, Ricky came home at irregular hours after grading hundreds of papers. He really hated that since it meant less time at home with Nini. She was in the last few months of her pregnancy, and she had been aching all the time. 

Instead of feeling angry or gloominess like she did in the earlier stages, she had been quiet almost like she was having a depressive episode. She was worse on days that were cloudy or rainy.

On a particular stormy night, Ricky had gotten home around 9 already knowing that she'd be most likely cuddling with Hugo for comfort or asleep. He found himself proven wrong when he saw Hugo resting on their bed alone while the shower had been going.

Ricky had the sudden urge to be near her both because he really missed her touch recently, and he also knew that she must've felt somber all day. He undressed til he was fully nude and made his way to the shower.

He could see her outline threw the translucent shower door staring down blankly at the drain letting the water pour over her head. It hurt to see her look so out of touch like this. He slowly slid the shower door to the side. Even though she didn't move a muscle, she knew he was present.

He closed the door behind him and wrapped his arms around her frame from behind. He rested his head on her shoulder and laid gentle kisses wherever he could reach. 

She was stationary for a while, but then eventually leaned her head back and pushed her hair to the side so that he could have more access to her neck. He welcomed the invitation and bent his head lower on her neck. His hand found its way to one of her breast which elicited a quiet sigh from her.

"Ricky let's finish this in our bed."

She turns off the water, and they found their way to the sheets. After the evenings events, they both had felt the stress of life slowly exit their bodies.

***

_The Tenth Month_

"Babe are you sure you'll be okay? I have no problem staying. I'll tell my boss that you need me."

Nini rubbed her thumb over her husband's hand to soothe him. "Sweetheart, I promise I'll be just fine without you for three days. Besides, you'll still be in the state just an hour away, so you can come back if there's an emergency."

"Yeah I know, but still it feels wrong to leave you all alone."

"I'm not gonna be alone. I have Hugo to keep me company at night and a bunch of our friends are gonna check up on me throughout the day. See? There's nothing to worry about. Now go before morning traffic starts."

He looked down at her with uncertainty but eventually let it go. "Okay but you better call me if-

"Anything goes wrong; yes I know babe. Now go!"

He planted a gentle kiss on her lips before leaving her to be. Since she was so close to bursting, she had started working from home since getting in cars was such a hassle and her job was definitely not suited for a pregnant woman since the environment was very fast paced.

A few hours after Ricky left, she had decided to hang out with Gina right now since she knew she'd be on her lunch break at this time. She called her.

"Hey Neens!"

"Hey Gi, I was wondering do you want to get lunch in the square? I don't feel like staying here." 

"Yeah of course! I'm actually pretty close to your place so I can swing by and get you."

"Sounds good. See you in a bit."

A little later, she meets Gina at her front door and they head to the square. They decided to go to a little sandwich shop that seemed relatively quiet. Gina had been talking about her annoying boss whenever Nini felt a really uncomfortable feeling in her womb.

She grunted and placed her hand over the area that it was hurting. She has never felt this kind of pain during the pregnancy before. 

"Hey Neens, is everything alright? I don't need to call someone or Ricky do I?"

Nini shook her head. "No, I should be fine. Continue your story." She felt a sharp pain overcome her soon after she said that. She let out a whimper that concerned Gina. 

"Nini what's wrong?"

Nini squinted her eyes from the extreme pain in her stomach. "Oh my god, I think it's the baby."

Gina started to mildly panic. "Holy shit you don't think..."

"Yeah I might be in labor."

"But you're not due for another two months! This can't be!"

"Just please take me to a hospital."

"Of course!"

Gina helps her to the car as fast as she could and tries her best to get around traffic without crashing the car. Nini kept taking huge breaths to try to calm herself down, but it only did so much. She was trying her best not to show her fear. 

If she gives birth today, the babies would be premature and who knows what birth defects that would give them. Or maybe she's in the process of losing the baby right now. She shook her head at that last thought. No, she was gonna think positive until she knows what's wrong with her.

"You're gonna be just fine Neens. You should probably call Ricky."

"No."

Gina looked over at her bewildered. "No?"

"I don't want him to come back early from his business trip if this ends up being a false alarm."

"But Nini you know he'll get hella pissed when he finds out both at me and you."

"Well he'll have to get over it."

Gina decided to drop it for now, but she definitely was gonna bring it up again. When they got to the hospital, Gina signaled for a gurney briefly explaining the situation. They had rushed her to the ER. 

Since Gina wasn't family, she had to stay in the waiting room. She had been eyeing her phone deciphering if she should listen to Nini and wait for results. 

On one hand, yes this could be a false alarm and would be a waste of Ricky's time to come back for nothing. However the other part of her thought that both herself and Nini would be so upset if this ended up being the birth and Ricky missed it. Decisions, decisions.

After a long few minutes of internal debating, she decided to follow what felt right. She whipped out her phone and dialed Ricky's number. He answers almost immediately already assuming that it was something bad.

"Gi, is something wrong? You never call at this hour."

"Ricky, Nini might get mad at me for this, but honestly I'd feel bad for not saying anything at all just in case today's the day. She had some odd pain in her womb, so I took her to the hospital on 4th street. She's in the ER as we speak. Hurry if you can, but be careful."

She could overhear his heavy breathing on the other side of the phone and could practically see his terrified face.

"I'm on my way." 

An hour and a half later, Ricky comes barging through the front door. He looks erratic and Gina can tell he's been pulling his hair. 

"Ricky the ER is that way." Gina pointed. He gave a curt nod and ran. He saw a nurse and stopped in front of them. "I'm here for Nina Bowen, my wife."

The women checked her papers. "Ah yes she's in the room at the end of the hall." Ricky sprinted to room causing a few stares from other doctors, but he didn't care. He needed to see if she was okay. He busted open the door to her room startling both Nini and her nurse. 

"Ricky, what're you doing here? Did Gina call you?"

He walked to her side breathless. "Why didn't you wanna tell me you were in the fucking ER?! That's definitely a big deal! I knew I shouldn't have left you alone. Thank god Gina was there."

"Ricky calm down! I didn't wanna worry you just in case there was nothing wrong."

"Um I'm sorry to interrupt, but your results came back." The nurse held up her notes.

Nini stood up a bit. "There's nothing wrong with the baby is there?" 

The nurse smiled and shook her head. "Thankfully the babies are just fine. Just your average pregnancy pains. It happens a lot when it's getting close. We'll give you some meds to calm them down."

The couple let out a sigh. Ricky felt like a weight was lifted off of his shoulder. "Oh thank god the babies are okay! For a second I thought-

That's when her words hit him. She said _babies_ as in _plural._

"Wait did you just say babies?!"

The nurse nodded gleefully. "Yep, you're having twins. Did you not know?" 

The news had just hit Nini too. Her brain short circuited. "Twins as in two babies? I have two people inside of me right now?"

"Yep! I'll leave you two to let the news sink in since it seems like this is clearly new info to you both." The nurse swiftly left the room.

Ricky looked down at her. "We're having twins?! We only prepared for one! What're we gonna do?"

"I don't know! I can't believe I didn't notice I had twins in me. That does explain why my stomach is fucking ginormous though." 

Ricky felt himself getting dizzy. "I-I definitely need to sit down. This is a lot." She scooted over so that he can lay beside her. The pair had stayed there in silence letting the news sink in for a while.

Ricky turns his head towards hers and she does the same. "I wanna know what's going on in that pretty head of yours."

She cracked a smile. "I'm thinking about how we're definitely gonna get through this. The nursery is big enough for two babies anyways. We'll just have to buy another crib."

Ricky snaps his fingers. "Actually we can use my old one. My dad had found it when he was cleaning last month."

"Perfect! And we have to double the clothes and food supply now, but my moms said they would help with some necessities for the baby. I think we'll be okay on that. See? Everything's going to be alright."

He reached down and kissed her. "Yeah you're right." He cuddled closer to her. 

"How do we break this to our parents and friends?"

Ricky could already see all of their faces right now. Most of them would overreact. "I say we put it in the group chat for our friends and actually call our parents. I don't wanna deal with Carlos or Ashlyn's reactions right now."

She chuckled. "I fully agree."

They eventually did text the group chat later that day and as expected, they all went nuts except Gina since she knew before anyone else. Carlos and Ashlyn had probably sent over 1000 gifs and audio recordings. Their parents had all been shocked and excited by the news. Carol has already started up her sewing machine for more sweaters.

***

_The Eleventh Month_

Ricky rolled over to face his sleepy wife. "Wait who would win the bet if they ended up being one of each gender?"

She groaned as she nuzzled her head in her pillow. "Ricky it's 11 at night. Ask me this in the morning."

"Okay but if they're two girls would I be changing both of their diapers for a month? And if they're boys would you? I need answers babe."

Nini hit him with one of their extra pillows. "Ugh you won't shut up anytime soon will you?"

"Nope! I'm wide awake, and it's the weird hours of the night when you start thinking of random things."

"Then take some sleeping pills or something."

"How about we talk about baby names? I feel like that's hella essential to discuss now since we have to think of two first and middle names."

She opened her eyes. "Actually that's a good point. Alright I'll give in this one time."

"So I'm thinking if it's a boy and girl, we could maybe name it after famous duos we like."

She shuts that one down immediately. "Nope, that's basically asking people to make fun of them. Maybe we should think of names that relate to us. Maybe name them after relatives or friends."

"Well I think their middle names should be named after people we respect like our parents or the kid's godparents."

"Hmm I actually like that idea. If it's two girls, one of their middle names will be named after Kourtney and the other your grandma since I know you love her so much."

He smiles at that. "I'm totally down for that. If it's two boys, one of their middle names will be named after my dad and one after Carlos since he's the godfather."

"Awe Carlos would freak! But what if they're one of each gender?"

They both thought for a second before Ricky came up with something. "How about girl is after your moms and the boy my dad?"

"I love it! Now should we talk first names?"

"I actually don't wanna think of first names. Something tells me we'll just know what suits them when we see them you know?"

"You know what? Yeah you're right. It'll come naturally."

Ricky rubbed her belly and gently rested his head on it. He felt one of them kick as if they were trying to say hi. He couldn't help the toothy smile that appeared on his face.

He planted a kiss on her stomach. "I can't wait to meet these little guys in a month."

The babies seemed to have sensed his presence and began kicking a little more in his direction. The pair snickered at how hyper active the babies were. 

"It looks like they're excited to meet you too."

"Awe they've already decided who their favorite parent is. I see they have taste." He jokes.

She playfully smacks his head. "They did not!"

"How much you wanna bet?"

"You are so competitive!"

"So you're pussying out of a bet Neens? Wow how out of character of you." He taunted.

She smiled from amusement, smacked him with a pillow, and closed her eyes again. "Go to bed Richard."

"Fine... I'm still their favorite though." He whispered.

It was the final strike from the pillow that got him to shut up.

***

_The Twelfth Month_

"Ricky do you have the fruit platter? I don't wanna repeat Thanksgiving again."

He lifted the platter in front of her. "Yes dear, I have the damned platter. I promise I won't forget it in the car for three days again. I definitely learned my lesson." He said sarcastically.

"Lose the tude. You know my hormones are making me moody again."

He cranks up the car and turns on his playlist as they make their way to Ashlyn and Big Red's annual Christmas Eve party. When they arrive, they're greeted by happy faces. Nini probably got a belly rub from every single guest at the party.

Carlos slides a platter of cheeses in front of Nini. "I know how much you crave dairy, so I brought this." She begins to stuff her face as if she hasn't eaten in years. 

"This is why we made you godfather. This is some quality shit." 

Carlos passed her a napkin a little grossed out by how she was pigging out, but he knew better to not say anything to the very moody woman.

"You look like you might pop any second now. When's the due date again?"

"December 29. I guess they'll be my late Christmas gift."

"And I'm assuming that they'll be named after me?"  
He began posing, which made her giggle.

"We've discussed making the middle names the godparents names."

Carlos clapped excitingly and hugged her. "I knew you had common sense and taste!"

She rolled her eyes and threw one of the cheeses at him. He flinched when it touched his expensive cardigan.

Ashlyn dimmed down the lights, which she soon learned over the years meant that it was time to enjoy appetizers while having small talk. As Nini made her way to the living room, she felt a foreign feeling in her womb except this wasn't the same cramp she had two months ago.

She looked down and noticed that water was leaking from between her legs and fell on the floor. Oh shit. She was in labor. She was having the babies a few days earlier!

"Ricky..."

He looked over at her and noticed the puddle around her ankles. He ran over to her side.

"Holy shit! She's having the babies!"

That caught everyone's attention. They all ran to her side. 

"Someone call an ambulance!" Ashlyn yelled.

"No don't. Ricky can drive us to the hospital. I think we can make it from here."

Ricky wrapped her arm around him. "Come on let's head to the car." 

They move as fast as they can to the car. Ricky was trying his best not to speed on their trip, but he also didn't want her to give birth in the car. She's doing the breathing technique she had learned from her birthing coach. She looked over at Ricky to make sure he wasn't too freaked out.

She could see how tense he was and that he was most likely trying to stay calm for her sake. She weakly reaches her hand out to him and grips his forearm. He begins to loosen his grip on the wheel just by her simple touch.

"Ricky everything will be just fine. We've got this."

Ricky doesn't even bother parking in a spot. He pulls in the front of the hospital and calls for the first paramedic he sees. They quickly get her into a wheelchair and push her to the closest room.

They set her on the bed and begin to document her contractions. Ricky held onto her hand as she tried hard not to scream her lungs out. The next few hours feel like absolute hell for the couple. Nini has been screeching like a damn banshee, and Ricky's hand just might fall off if she squeezes it any tighter.

"For fucks sake, how much longer?!" 

"I think I see a head actually. I'm going to need you push as hard as you can Nina!" The nurse said.

Nini screams as she pushes the first baby out while the nurse cuts the chord. Ricky smiles when he sees that one of them are already out. "Good job babe! We just have one to go."

She glared daggers at him. "Damn you for making me feel this pain!"

He dabbed her forehead with a towelette. He knew better not to take her words to heart at the moment. "I'm sorry sweetheart, but hey the pain will be over soon."

The other nurse held up the baby and wrote down the time of birth. "It's a girl."

Nini began pushing again 10 minutes later already feeling the head of the second one coming out a lot smoother than the first one. 

"A few more pushes!" The nurse said.

Ten pushes later, the second one finally popped out. The nurse cut the chord and handed the infant to the other nurse to record the time. 

"It's a boy! We're gonna get them all cleaned up for you guys before you hold them. Do you know their names yet? If not we'll just put the last name on them."

The couple shook their heads. "No worries. We'll leave you two alone for a little while." The nurses left with the babies.

Ricky wipes the rest of the sweat off her head as she finally relaxed for the first time in hours. She loosened her grip on his hands, and he pulled the back of her palm up to his lips to place a kiss on it.

"I can't believe we're gonna finally meet them! You did such a good job bringing them into the world. I hated seeing you in pain like that though."

"I definitely don't plan on doing that again for a good while."

"I say we name them like we planned. Middle names are our parents and then we decide what's right when they bring them in." He suggested.

"Cool with me. I just can't wait to hold them."

The two nurses came in with both babies in their hands all freshened up. 

"Congrats on your two healthy twins!" One of the nurses gave the girl to Ricky while the other gave the boy to Nini.

The couple began crying tears of joy the moment the kids were in their hands. 

Nini played with her little boy's hand and wanted to melt when he smiled up at her. "Ricky, I love them so much. I already did when they were inside me, but I love them ten times more than I already did."

Ricky wiped a tear away from his eye as he rocked his baby girl. "I love them so damn much too. They're so beautiful. This is definitely the best thing you've ever given me. Thank you."

"I should thank you too. After all, I couldn't do this without you."

"What should we name them?" He asked.

She examined the child in front of her. She didn't know what it was, but she knew exactly what he had to be named by looking into his eyes.

"He'll be named Aidan Michael Bowen."

Ricky smiles at that name. "I love it. Carlos will definitely throw a fit though."

He looked down at the little girl in his arms. When she grabbed onto his finger, a name came to his head. 

"She'll be named Paige Dana Caroline Bowen. Something about it feels right."

Nini nods of approval. "My moms will cry when they hear that. Let's switch babies; I wanna hold my baby girl." They swap babies and fall in love all over again. Ricky looked at the time and realized that it was Christmas morning. 

"This is the best Christmas ever."

"I definitely have to agree."

When Nini and the babies are released from the hospital hours later, they're greeted by their loved ones all fanning over the new members of the family.

That first night they rocked their babies to sleep felt so natural to them that they almost forgot what life was like before they had them. Hugo had immediately become protective of them and slept in the same room as them, which warmed the parent's hearts.

As they watched the adorable scene of their happy family, they can't help but get excited about what other events will occur in their wonderful life that they will share together in the future.

***

_Having a place to go is home,_ _having someone to love is family,_ _having both is a blessing._

**Author's Note:**

> Did I seriously put an iCarly reference in here because that's one of my fav scenes in the whole show? Yes, yes I did. 
> 
> This is kinda like a filler before my 30th story which will be my 1st Rini multi-chapter! Super excited for it! I'm gonna post three more fics of different genres before I post the big one though.
> 
> Anyways, I hope you enjoyed this little slice of life. Bye!


End file.
